[Smithson (James, founding donor of the Smithsonian Institution, 1765-1829)].- Hotel de Hungerford, Rue Caumartin, Paris, Tenu par Sailly, letterpress bill of fare with priced list of dishes and wines in three columns, sheet 36 x 32 cm (14 ¼ x 12 ½ in.), border of printer's ornaments, old folds, small brown spot, verso with ink notes in English for travelling expenses between Paris and Marseilles, c. 1830 ⁂ The hotel keeper Henry Honore Sailly had been servant to James Smithson, the illegitimate son of Hugh Smithson, later 1st Duke of Northumberland, and Elizabeth Macie, a wealthy widow whose family name was Hungerford. Smithson inherited a considerable fortune on his mother's death in 1800. A scientist, gambler and shrewd investor who had been born in Paris and spent many of his final years there, he financed Sailly's hotel, lending him 20,000 francs in 1828 alone. When Smithson died in 1829 Sailly was a beneficiary of his will, as was the United States of America when, in 1836, an unusual clause left a legacy of half a million dollars for the establishment of the Smithsonian Institution, now the largest museum in the world.
[Smithson (James, founding donor of the Smithsonian Institution, 1765-1829)].- Hotel de Hungerford, Rue Caumartin, Paris, Tenu par Sailly, letterpress bill of fare with priced list of dishes and wines in three columns, sheet 36 x 32 cm (14 ¼ x 12 ½ in.), border of printer's ornaments, old folds, small brown spot, verso with ink notes in English for travelling expenses between Paris and Marseilles, c. 1830 ⁂ The hotel keeper Henry Honore Sailly had been servant to James Smithson, the illegitimate son of Hugh Smithson, later 1st Duke of Northumberland, and Elizabeth Macie, a wealthy widow whose family name was Hungerford. Smithson inherited a considerable fortune on his mother's death in 1800. A scientist, gambler and shrewd investor who had been born in Paris and spent many of his final years there, he financed Sailly's hotel, lending him 20,000 francs in 1828 alone. When Smithson died in 1829 Sailly was a beneficiary of his will, as was the United States of America when, in 1836, an unusual clause left a legacy of half a million dollars for the establishment of the Smithsonian Institution, now the largest museum in the world.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
